August 2001

Issue 50

http://www.hbd.org/carboy

Bill Pollard (blyrbow@bellsouth.net)

July 2001 Meeting Minutes

Several new ideas were presented and discussed. We will continue to discuss some of them, as we really didn’t have anything close to a quorum.

1. There will be a Pizza sign up sheet available at the meeting, for anyone interested in eating at the meeting. The idea is for all interested parties to sign up early, and then one of the parties will call the order in. They deliver.
2. We discussed the idea of beginning to share the beer right away, rather than wait for club business to be finished first.
3. A serious effort was then presented for the club to formally assist Mike at American Brewmaster with evaluating all of the many fine samples left with him for this purpose. ("Hey Mike, can you tell me what you think of this beer"). The idea is that Mike gets an awful lot of these, and we get an awful lot from Mike, so maybe we can really help out.

This evaluation would NOT be strictly along the lines of competition judging so much as along the lines of helping beginning brewers advance their efforts.

Perhaps those wishing such evaluation can also leave $1.00 with the sample, to aid in the postage and handling of the evaluations, and then one of those interested in contributing along these lines would periodically pick up the samples, and evaluate them.

Those interested in such an effort should join together, meet soon, and decide on guidelines and expectations for these evaluations. See Mike Wallace if interested.

4. Annual renewals are once again due. You should have received a renewal sheet from Mike Wallace, please respond. Still $15.00, can’t beat that.
5. The annual PUB CRAWL was then discussed (you betcha!) but details on that are already on the homepage. August 25!

We then went into "TELL US ABOUT THIS BEER", and it all went uphill/downhill from there.

Note: The first 3 samples were a Wit contest. There were no losers, but there was one selected to be sent to the AHA Club Only Competition (COC) to represent us. Congratulations to Jim Kinn for being selected to represent CARBOY in the Wit COC. 

The October COC will include California Common Beer, with entries due in by September 28. Get brewing those California Commons!

SHARED WITH THE CLUB

Next meeting is Wednesday, August 22, 2001.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation……. or, A visit to Old Dominion Brewing Company and Pub  
by Glenn Thomas

I’m sure that almost every home brewer has heard of Old Dominion Brewing Company, but few probably realize that ODBC has their own Brewpub located in their Virginia brewery. I’ve had the opportunity to visit them several times and would recommend for anyone going to the Washington area to stop in.

The ODBC and Brewpub is located in Loudoun County, Virginia, about three miles from Dulles Airport in a very non-descript industrial park. The park is also the home of the Washington Redskins’ practice facility and so it’s not uncommon to see several of the players and coaching staff at the pub enjoying the food and brews. More specific information on how to find the brewery can be found at their website URL www.olddominion.com.

The brewery has been around since 1989 and has grown considerably over the past decade. They now produce an annual volume of over 26,000 barrels. They presently brew twenty-eight beers and make a root beer and an all malt vinegar. The beers are primarily sold in Virginia, Washington DC and areas of Maryland. Their Tuppers’ beer is also available in several other states with North Carolina being included. Many of their beers are brewed specifically for area restaurants and pubs and typically carry the name of the establishment where they’re served. If you have a brew on tap from a pub or restaurant in the DC area, which bears the name of the establishment, odds are pretty good it was brewed by ODBC.

The Brewpub is at the front of the one-story, brick faced building that houses the brewery. The place is so well hidden that there isn’t even a sign, however this hasn’t seemed to cause any reduction in customers. It’s open for lunch and early dinner seven days a week and has been semi-crowded each time I’ve visited. Inside there is seating around the 15’x15’ bar for about twenty in addition to tables and booths for about another hundred people. The food consists of typical pub fare of sandwiches, soups and salads, which is really pretty good, but I can assure you once you try a beer, you’ll know you aren’t there for the food.

Two walls of the pub have full height windows for the patrons to see the workings of the brewery. One of the walls faces a room with storage and fermentation tanks, while the other looks out to the huge bottling machine. Tours of the brewery are also conducted on every Saturday, with free samples of their beers.

All of the 16 beers on tap are brewed by ODBC. One of the brews is a cask-conditioned beer served at 50 degrees through a beer engine and rotates between their Real Ale and the Tuppers’. The others taps occasionally rotate but you can usually expect most of the following; ODBC Ale, Hefewiezen, Black & Tan, Patriot Amber, Hard Times Select, ODBC Helles, ODBC Lager, Oak Barrel Stout, Victory Amber Lager, ODBC Stout, Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Ale, Aviator Amber Lager, Old Dubliner Amber Ale, Greek Circus Ring Master Ale and Vienna Bar Annual Ale.

The brewery typically has one of their seasonal beers on tap, which was the Hefewiezen when I was there. It might be their Summer Ale, Octoberfest or Imperial Stout during other times of the year. They also brewed their Millennium last fall to commemorate the new century, which was released in December 99’, however it has long since been sold out.

Since I’ve been able to visit the brewery on several occasions (my brother also usually has their beer on tap at his house), I’ve been fortunate enough to try almost all of their pours. I must admit that it’s been difficult to find flaws with any that I’ve tasted, but there are several standouts that I would highly recommend.

First, let me describe the Oak Barrel Stout. This beer is conditioned for a week in oak barrels that have had bourbon in them for five years. The complex blend of flavors between the dark roasted malts, the sweet bourbon and the vanilla from the charred oak kegs is quite unique and will please any dark beer lover. Another fine beer is the cask conditioned Tuppers’. This full-bodied brew is very hoppy (60+ IBUs) and has a wonderfully aromatic nose through being dry hopped with Mount Hood and Cascade before being bottle or keg conditioned.

Even ODBC’s Root Beer is worth a sample. The original recipe is from and old American recipe found at the Library of Congress and the soda is made in the brewery’s brew kettle. Their literature says that the unique flavor is derived from Virginia dark honey, but I’m sure the addition of yucca, extracts of wintergreen and vanilla and synthetic sassafras add to the wonderful richness of the soft drink. It’s widely available in bottles and you should pick some up if you’re in the area.

If you are planning a trip to the northern Virginia area or the District of Columbia, take a break between the usual tourist spots and monuments to go to the Old Dominion Brewery and Brew Pub. It might also be a perfect place to take a cab to if you’re ever on a layover or your flight is cancelled from Dulles.